Family members of the victims of two of Northern Ireland's worst bombing atrocities met for the first time yesterday to discuss the possibility of joining forces with the families of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings in an attempt to persuade the British and Irish governments to give a higher priority to the families' respective campaigns.
Among those at the meeting in Derry yesterday were Mr Gordon Miller whose father David was one of the nine people killed in car bombs in Claudy in July 1972. Also at the private meeting was Ms Marion Radford whose 16-year-old son Alan was one of the 29 people and two unborn twins killed in the August 1998 Omagh bombing.
The meeting was organised by Ms Janette Warke of the Shared City Project, who said the Omagh and Claudy families planned to contact the relatives of victims of other atrocities.
"We're looking to meet with families whose relatives died in the Teebane, Enniskillen, Dublin and Monaghan atrocities to talk about common problems and to discuss a joint approach to the two governments aimed at recognising the grief that these people still suffer today.
"It was a humbling experience to listen to what the families from Omagh and Claudy said to each other today in terms of grief, justice and wanting closure," said Ms Warke.
Ms Radford said she had realised that the Claudy families "were talking the same language in terms of difficulties".